Making a Point Verses Making a Difference

I was set to deliver this message a couple of weeks ago when I got the call that the man who had led me to Jesus had passed away unexpectantly in his sleep. It was a confirmation for me as Dave truly made a difference in the lives of everyone he met. With that turn of events, it caused me to go back and analyze my notes and modify my teaching.

We live in a time unlike the one we read about in the Bible, while it is true we are still dealing with murder, homosexuality, gossip, adultery, stealing, etc. We certainly have a tool at our disposal that they didn’t. The internet.

With a push of a button a preacher, teacher, youth, etc can all have any information they want and whatever slant of that information. Any mistake or opinion can be blasted far and wide and live on forever. The internet doesn’t forgive and it certainly doesn’t forget.

It has never been easier to make a point and it has never been harder to make a difference.

After spending roughly one hour searching the internet I found thousands of commentaries, points, perspectives in audio, video, and written on the weekly Torah cycle, on Jesus’ life. One what the bible says about almost anything and everything.

So many points and yet few impactful differences. We still have all of the sins, broken homes, internal issues that every other believer Torah pursuant or not has. In some ways, we have perfected making points with semantics and have completely forgotten how to make a difference.

Ok, so the internet isn’t a full test of society. In fact, most of the sane normal people stay off the internet as much as possible. I know right..... So I called some Pastors and Teacher friends of mine across many different age ranges, geographical locations, and denominational lines. I asked them, do you feel like all the work and effort you put into your community or church is making a difference? I was shocked to hear that most were not really sure if they were actually making a difference or just constantly making points.

There are some brilliant people in this room. You could make many great points in a matter of minutes but how many differences can we make.

Making a point takes a matter of seconds and yet most differences take weeks, months, years to actually make. Take Yeshua for example in John chapter 8:

Then each of them went home, 8 1 while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and making her stand before all of them, 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now, what do you say?” 6 They said this to test him so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground.[a] 9 When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, sir.”[b] And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”]][c]

The scribes and Pharisees came to challenge Jesus while he was teaching at the Temple. They did so to attempt to catch Jesus in blasphemous speech. They came to make a point. Their point was a valid argument. Yet by the time Jesus was done with them they had left and Jesus had made a difference.

Matthew 12

12 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

9 He went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

Once again we see the Pharisees attempting to make a point. Again a very valid point by the Law of Moses and yet we see that Jesus makes a difference.

There is a saying you can be right but you can also be dead right. Our culture has created a mentality that it is our job to police our brothers, to point out their errors, to expose their foolishness, and to be right. But that isn’t the culture of being right, that is the culture of being dead right.

Jesus knew he was right but how he handled this situation wasn’t to berate, he was obviously extremely witty, but he responded in a manner that those who saw the dialogue left changed. The Pharisees left angry yet the bystanders left with a greater understanding of what it means to make a difference in walking out your faith.

Today we struggle with making a difference. Every month there is another distraction, another reason, another fear, another something. We are being programmed to move from problem to problem, task to task. We aren’t in almost anything for the long haul, we want our coffee fast, our food faster, and our ability to make a point when something doesn’t go the way we planned. Everyone can make a point but only a few can make a lasting difference.

At HFF I implore us to not be like the rest. To not argue over points that divide and create a temporary sense of accomplishment. I implore us to dig in, focus and truly make a difference while others make points. This won’t come by us engaging in the same things as the world. It will only come by the power of the Holy Spirit and our ability to commit to a week, month, year-long process to truly help transform others’ lives. That is when we will truly see God manifest himself.